1. United States
2. La.
3. Letter

I am writing as a concerned constituent to urge you in the strongest terms to preserve the federal student loan system in its current form and to oppose the House’s proposed Repayment Assistance Program (RAP). The rising levels of student debt in this country are not the result of borrower irresponsibility, but a direct consequence of the long-term withdrawal of federal and state investment in public higher education. Over the past several decades, funding cuts have forced colleges and universities to shift costs onto students, leading to the ballooning of tuition and, in turn, student debt. Now, rather than addressing the root causes of the crisis or restoring the public funding that once made higher education affordable and accessible, the House proposal seeks to dismantle the existing federal student loan system—eliminating income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness in favor of a far more limited and less equitable Repayment Assistance Program. This would be a massive step backward for students, working families, and our economy as a whole. The current system, while imperfect, offers critical protections and pathways for borrowers who pursue public service, experience hardship, or are still building stable careers. Programs like PSLF, subsidized loans, and income-driven repayment are not luxuries—they are lifelines that reflect our shared commitment to educational opportunity and economic mobility. I urge you to publicly oppose the House’s RAP proposal and to defend the student loan programs as they currently exist. Weakening these programs would unfairly punish borrowers for a funding failure they did not create—and would further entrench inequality across our state and country.